Isabel Mohan and her Christmas jumper followed the action live as
Downton Abbey, Coronation Street, Richard Branson, Ninja Warrior UK and X
Factor winner Louisa Johnson joined in with the annual festive fundraiser

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Things we've learned

1. TV presenters have feelings too

A succession of presenters did their best to hold Text Santa together - all of them familiar ITV faces like Phillip Schofield, Amanda Holden, Paddy McGuinness, Caroline Flack and Olly Murs - but the one who'll be remembered is Christine Bleakley.

Christine showed that this isn't just a poor man's Comic Relief when she broke down in tears live on air following an emotional video about the incredible work done by Make A Wish, one of the charities benefitting from this year's appeal.

Christine couldn't handle the heartbreaking story of a four year old girl who had tragically died of cancer, and it was how everyone watching at home felt too. She was much warmer to watch than the likes of Caroline Flack and Olly Murs who, as ever, were too permanently panicked by the autocue to show any genuine emotion.

2. We don't need a Downton finale now

Tonight's Downton Abbey sketch was a huge highlight of the long night of entertainment. In it, stars like Gordon Ramsay, Gok Wan, Michelle Keegan and Bruce Forsyth auditioned for the part of Santa, in front of an unimpressed Hugh Bonneville - until Carson stole the show.

It's just a shame they held it back until gone 10.30pm - way past many Downton fans' bedtime.

3. Of course professional athletes can handle the Ninja Warrior UK course

Hmm, we think some of the "celebrities" who braved the Ninja Warrior UK course in the name of charity were cheating a little - they were professional athletes!

If we were Mark Wright, we'd think it was a little unfair that we were competing with Olympian Louise Hazel and boxer Carl Froch. Thankfully, we're not Mark Wright, so we just enjoyed laughing at him messing up his hair instead. We really thought it was undestructible.

4. The Corrie/Back To The Future/Richard Branson mash-up was... confusing

We'd love to have been a fly on the wall in this meeting. Presumably, Richard Branson said he was up for doing something. Presumably, someone got their hands on a Delorean. And, presumably, the involvement of ITV's biggest soap was non-negotiable.

So, why not throw all three together, with hilarious consequences? OK, not hilarious. But they were all good sports, and that's what this is all about.

5. Zammo from Grange Hill had the best night of his life

Emma Willis is a beautiful TV presenter. But, before her freakishly striking eyes and easy charm made her a familiar face on telly, she was just a little girl with a crush on Zammo from Grange Hill.

Zammo from Grange Hill is a middle-aged man called Lee MacDonald, and tonight he got to smooch Emma on live TV, as part of Stephen Mulhern's Big Star Little Star special. We bet he couldn't believe his luck.

6. Text Santa is cheesy - but it's worth it

Olly Murs appears on ITV's Text Santa Photo: ITV

Some of the segments might have made us roll our eyes (just like you rolled your eyes when your office's perkiest pest sent the emoji-heavy "Let's do Christmas jumper day!" email out a couple of weeks ago), but Text Santa is a great cause - the video appeals were genuinely moving, and raising over £8 million for three great charities is no mean feat, especially when Olly Murs is involved.

Also, ITV are dead clever scheduling it on what is apparently the booziest night of the year. How many people will have got home from work drinks, shoved the telly on and accidentally found themselves donating a tenner through their Pinot Grigio tears? Good work all round.

As it happened

£8,383,361 has been raised! Well done for wearing jumpers everyone

So, all these hours of televisual silliness weren't for nothing - that's a lot of money for Save The Children, Make A Wish and Macmillan.

Well done to you if you donated money, wore clothes and, most of all, managed to last the night without slagging off any of the presenters because it wouldn't be appropriate.

Eating pizza saves lives

That's basically what Katherine Ryan just taught us, right?

Paddy McGuinnesss is quite the team builder

Paddy McGuinness has been locked in the call centre for most of the night, pacing around interrupting the celebs and civilians who are manning the phones. He seems quite at home there; it's probably exactly what he'd be doing if he wasn't famous for spewing out innunendos on Take Me Out.

It's your alternative Downton finale

Who needs the real Downton Abbey when we can watch this silly version featuring guest cameos from Gordon Ramsay, Gok Wan, Bruce Forsyth and Michelle Keegan?

Gok's glasses are not part of the joke.

The sketch is definitely one of the highlights of the night so far... a reward for viewers who've already put two and a half hours in.

Even the Text Santa presenters are in tears

Some of the Text Santa video appeals are beyond heartbreaking, such as the one featuring May, a four year old girl who, thanks to one of tonight's chosen charities, Make A Wish, was able to fulfil her wish to be a princess for a day before she tragically died of cancer.

Christine Bleakley, presenting the current segment with Phillip Schofield, broke down in tears live on air following the appeal. Text Santa might be cheesy at times, but it has a huge heart.

Over £4 million has been raised so far.

To see @clbleakley with raw emotion shows how much supporting a great cause can make a difference #TextSanta

The Corrie/Branson/Back To The Future mash-up is still going strong

Tonight's all about being a good sport, even if none of it makes any sense.

Nosing at famous people's parents is always fun

OK, so Emma Willis, George Shelley and Jennie McAlpine aren't exactly A-list, but we still liking getting a look at their families. Stephen Mulhern, who's famous for being on ITV and its various offshoots, constantly, has roped them in to a Big Star Little Star special.

We're slightly grossed out by Emma's windy confessions. It seems her table manners aren't as pretty as her eyes.

Still, we bet Zammo from Grange Hill - Emma's childhood crush - couldn't believe his luck when she agreed to kiss him in the name of charity (Text Santa, that is - she wasn't just feeling sorry for him).

In a surprise twist, now Stephen Mulhern is getting the live humiliation treatment: his dad's turned up. As has Caroline Flack, who we thought went home an hour ago. Does she never sleep?

Richard Branson + Corrie + Back To The Future? Alright then

The thing is with these charity extravaganzas is that people can get with fulfilling their silliest whims. Does the world need Richard Branson to pop onto the Corrie cobbles in a Delorean? No. Is it amusing us anyway? Sure, it's silly season and the apparently the booziest night of the year; we'll chuckle at anything.

Celebrities are not very good at the Ninja Warrior UK course

But good on them for having a go. There's something very enjoyable about seeing Mark Wright, famous for TOWIE and shouting on the radio, plunging into water, ruining the hair he clearly spends hours grooming.

One Direction even make Christmas jumpers look good

The Text Santa team must be beside themselves with glee that One Direction agreed to take part - their impressionable fans do whatever they tell them. And, we have to admit, they do look rather fetching in their festive knits.

ITV have cracked the Comic Relief formula

Emotional appeal videos followed by light-hearted lols? They've got plenty. The interview with a family who've benefitted from Macmillan's incredible work was heartbreaking to watch. Emmerdale doing Shakin' Stevens? Less so.

And it's obviously working because Paddy and Alesha have announced that they've raised well over £2 million so far.

It's X Factor all over again

Olly Murs and Caroline Flack introducing Louisa Johnson's live performance - are we having flashbacks to the relentless torture of live blogging X Factor? Nah, she's just turned up for Text Santa too.

Forever Young is an appropriate song for tonight, given the charities involved. It's moving, powerful stuff. And pretty lucky that Reggie 'N' Bollie didn't win.

The X Factor judges are also doing their bit - we enjoyed the Simon Cowell sketch. We hope the most miserable bloke in your office now feels ashamed of shunning Christmas Jumper Day when even telly's most cynical talent show judge has deigned to take part.

Whoever booked the celebs deserves a big drink

We can only imagine how much planning goes into an event like this - and this year ITV have done extremely well on the celeb guests front.

One Direction will be turning up later (so much for X Factor being their last UK TV appearance before their hiatus...), which always brings in a few million viewers, and other stars are popping up everywhere - we just saw Jonathan Ross (in a Christmas jumper! Not a suit! He must really mean it), Claudia Winkleman and Jo Brand, amongst other famous faces, appealing for viewers to donate.

Plus, Ant & Dec are involved too - it's good to see them out of the jungle and interacting with normal people, in this case some of those benefitting from tonight's chosen charities, Make a Wish, MacMillan and Save The Children.

Watching a touching story on #textSanta about a young lad & the wonderful team at @MakeAWishUK To support & donate £5, text SANTA5 to 70760

At least the stars tackling the Ninja Warrior UK course don't have to wear Christmas jumpers

Ryan Thomas takes part in the Ninja Warrior UK challange Photo: ITV

ITV's most dumbly entertaining game show, Ninja Warrior UK, isn't for the faint-hearted, so we're impressed that a bunch of celebs are throwing themselves around the course in the name of charity.

Soap stars (Coronation Street's Ryan Thomas, Emmerdale's Gemma Atkinson): not so good. Kimberley the ever-competitive Pussycat Doll: better. Carl Froch: very good, but it is his job to be sporty.

Rejoice! Olly Murs is back in a call centre

Before he found fame as a successful popstar and slightly less successful TV presenter, Olly Murs worked in a call centre. Tonight, he's gone back to his old job - but no, he hasn't been sacked from all future TV presenting commitments following the X Factor debacle, he's just one of many famous faces manning the phones tonight.

If you call up to donate, you could find yourself chatting to Olly, Caroline Flack, Amanda Holden or Alesha Dixon, amongst others. Give it a go, we bet Amanda puts on a proper fancy phone voice.

The fun has begun - and Pip's looking jolly

Daytime telly's silver fox makes the perfect modern-day Father Christmas (speaking of which, we know "Text Father Christmas" doesn't sound as snappy, but whenever we say Santa we feel like a whiney American eight year old. However, we'll try to forget this in the name of charity).

This is where the magic happens

Anyone else love nosing at other people's offices? Paddy McGuinness is already tweeting from Text Santa HQ, and we're pleased to see it has the naff 1980s carpet and ugly ceiling tiles of every other office ever. See, it's proof that they don't blow the money on trendy Scandinavian furniture and frivolous mood lighting.

What's Text Santa all about then?

Whether a tasteful Scandinavian knit or a full-on garish job replete with flashing lights and 3D Rudolph, we hope you’ve been wearing your Christmas jumper today. Seeing as they’ve become something of a trendy seasonal must-have these days, you don’t really need an excuse to pull one on, but the Text Santa Christmas Jumper Day gives you one none the less.

ITV’s annual festive fundraiser is now in its fifth year and while it doesn’t net the gargantuan amount that the BBC’s Comic Relief does (2013 saw Text Santa pull in just over £5m, compared to Comic Relief’s £100m+) it’s become a significant charity event in its own right. Certainly the organisations that benefit – this year it’s Save the Children, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Macmillan Cancer Support – will appreciate a boost to their coffers at time when funds can be tight for many charities.

Tonight’s festivities will be the traditional jumble of comedy skits involving famous faces and TV shows, live performances, and videos highlighting exactly where your money goes and why you should part with it. On that note, see below for details on how to donate (not that the programme will be shy about that side of things).

Highlights tonight include a Downton Abbey special in which Lord Grantham auditions for a Father Christmas (hopefuls include Bruce Forsyth, Gok Wan and Michelle Keegan), Richard Branson turning up on Coronation Street in his time-travelling Dolorean and a performance of The X Factor winner’s single (and likely Christmas No.1) Forever Young by Louisa Johnson.

With a host of celebrities getting involved and a whole army of presenters – including Philip Schofield, Holly Willoughby and X Factor pair Olly Murs and Caroline Flack – we should be in for three hours of fun, frolics and, most importantly, fundraising.

How can I fundraise?

There are also lots of ways you can fundraise and it's not too late to start. Take a look at the Text Santa website for details, fundraising ideas and fundraising kits.

Just like Comic Relief, there are hundreds of ways you can fundraise but the simplest one is to encourage your colleagues to all don their Friday jumper to this work this Friday and donate a little to charity for the pleasure.

Some people are setting the bar rather high - builders' merchants Jewson have broken a Guinness World Record for the amount of Christmas jumpers worn in their fundraising efforts for Text Santa.

A total of 1,187 employees across the country wore their Christmas knits, beating the record of 1,175 set by Loughborough University.